(CNN) - Sen. Ted Cruz was greeted by a screaming crowd of supporters and cheers of "Thank you Ted!" and "Welcome Home!" Monday night in Texas.

The freshman senator said he was happy to be back home in Houston, and wasn't afraid to be honest about his feelings on Washington.

"It is terrific to be back in America," said Cruz as supporters waved homemade signs promoting "#MakeDCListen," a hashtag that was a prominent part of Cruz's 21-hour speech on the Senate floor in late September.

In the opinion of many on Capitol Hill, Democrats and Republicans, that speech was the kick-off of an irresponsible and destructive campaign to defund Obamacare at the risk of all else.

With the White House and Congress unable to settle their budgetary differences, the federal government was partially shut down for more than two weeks, and came very close to running out of money to pay its bills.

Cruz's colleagues in the Senate didn't stay quiet. "It was a fool's errand to start with. It was never going to succeed," Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."

On CBS's "Face the Nation," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said, "Shutting down the government, in my view, is not conservative policy."

Catherine had announced at a family outing that she wanted to grow up to work in the Senate "like daddy." However, Cruz's other daughter, Caroline, immediately dismissed that as "boring." She also pointed out the fact that "by then daddy will be dead anyways."

Cruz went on to say, "I kind of wondered if Caroline had been talking to Republican leadership in Washington, if she knew something I didn't know."

If this isn't evidence enough that Cruz isn't too concerned with the "voices in Washington," when asked whether he was hoping to repair his relationships with Republican leaders, Cruz laughed. "I don't work for the party bosses in Washington. I work for 26 million Texans."
Ted Cruz won't rule out another shutdown, aide tells CNN

The deal that ended the shutdown and raised the debt ceiling was passed with 87 House Republicans joining 197 Democrats to vote 'Yea' and 144 Republicans voting 'Nay.'

"We didn't ultimately win this battle," said Cruz. "But listen, no one in this room started this fight thinking it would be easy. We all knew that if we took on the Washington establishment the establishment would fight back."

Cruz assured the crowd that the past two months had seen enormous progress and that if they "follow the model" of grass-roots campaigns and citizen engagement they would "change the debate" in Washington.

Movements such as the constituent support of Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul's filibuster on drones, and the backlash against gun control legislation after the shooting in Newtown, Cruz said, were evidence of effective campaigns Democrats and the White House were forced to listen to.

Cruz said the message of the rally was clear: Texans and the American people don't want Obamacare and they're fed up with Congress.

But for all his talk of blowing off the party bosses, Cruz acknowledged that success for the Republicans lay with a unified message.

"I'm hopeful, with a little bit of time and reflection, that Senate Republicans will decide to come together again," Cruz said.

"I would love to see Republican unity, to see all of us stand together against this train wreck that is Obamacare and with the American people."

soundoff(789 Responses)

Mymy

Cruz is a Canadian who moved to Texas after realizing how he could fool the slow minded of the state. Texans want to form their own country and Ted is running for King... and they are all happy as little peasants about it.

This man will do anything to keep his name in the news. You will NEVER be president dummy!

October 22, 2013 12:09 am at 12:09 am |

just me

He's not listening to the people and he's not listening to Texas. He's listening to the dark, squirming things in his head telling him he could be president. Or at least a Fox news contibutor.

October 22, 2013 12:09 am at 12:09 am |

Michael

Hey Ted..go back to where you came from. Thanks.

October 22, 2013 12:12 am at 12:12 am |

Elmer P.

Correction Ted, you only work for your fringe supporters and low info voters. You don't represent 26 million of us Texans at all, in fact quite a few of us wish you would be recalled or booted out. You're nothing but a fast-spreading melanoma in DC, not a cure at all.

Please no, just stop. It's good to be back in America when you arrive in Texas? Weren't you in America all along. This man is not even an American he is a Canadian Citizen. Do half you people even know what ACA is? It is a website that allows someone to find health insurance if they don't have it. I dont know about Texas but in Washington if you already have health insurance you don't even have to bother with it. C'est y est. Wake up people of Texas and members of the Tea Party before "It Can't Happen Here" happens here. If you dont understand my references then do some researching of your own into non liberal non conservative sources.

October 22, 2013 12:14 am at 12:14 am |

Grego

If the Republicans want to regain my loyalty they must eradicate the tea baggers.

Hamilton...this crowd shows how deficient the Texas school system is. They pass on a bunch of idiots!

October 22, 2013 12:15 am at 12:15 am |

Norbert

Just think what a $24B computer program for Obamacare would have looked like. Come on Ted, get out of the bubble.

October 22, 2013 12:16 am at 12:16 am |

Kate Johnson

Cruz's theatrics might play well in Texas, but his appeal is limited to the extremists he plays to. If he has hopes outside of Texas he's bound for disappointment, since he has zero appeal to even moderate Republicans, let alone any Democrat on earth, he could never get the votes.

October 22, 2013 12:17 am at 12:17 am |

Roger

What a way to run a party. If you don't stand for what we tell you to stand for we'll pay off some other candadate to run against you in a primary. You think the way we tell you, or you gone. WE know how things have to be run in Washington, we don't need your opinion, only your alegence. What a Grand old Party !

October 22, 2013 12:18 am at 12:18 am |

donklos

Cruz doesn't deserve any accolades for the fiasco of the closure. He needs to get bumped and vote in leaders who truly represent us.WAKE UP PEOPLE.

October 22, 2013 12:19 am at 12:19 am |

JohnRJohnson

Is Cruz attacking Reince Priebus? Talk about picking on the helpless. I mean, Priebus is THE "party boss" of the RNC. Who else would Cruz be attacking? I've never seen anybody with the amount of hubris and narcissism that Cruz exudes. His sad-eyed, mock sincerity has gotten terribly boring and transparent to the point of looking like self-parody.

October 22, 2013 12:20 am at 12:20 am |

Cruz Control

The only trainwreck is the one you caused by shutting down the government and making us all look like fools you clown.

October 22, 2013 12:21 am at 12:21 am |

Michael Benjamin

We're all glad he is back home. We'd be even happier if he would stay there.

October 22, 2013 12:21 am at 12:21 am |

Jack

All Republican votes had nothing to do with ObozoCare. That's is right from 3 1/2 years ago until now. They did not and never support ObozoCare. Ted Cruz and GOP are doing just fine. Just lousy low life liberal Obozo's worshipers news

October 22, 2013 12:24 am at 12:24 am |

keyser

You know he just reminds me of another Republican from the 1950's named Joe McCarthy.

October 22, 2013 12:24 am at 12:24 am |

Tim

You simple cannot put the good faith and credit of the United States in jeopardy. Spend less, argue more, win elections or lose elections, but do not put our country at risk of losing the integrity of our commitments.

October 22, 2013 12:25 am at 12:25 am |

Robert

Ted Cruz is da man.

October 22, 2013 12:25 am at 12:25 am |

bikermiker

All cars now sold in Houston, Texas are equipped with a new feature – 'Cruz control' – once you turn it on, it blacks out the windshield so you can't see anything; it turns up the volume on Conservative talk radio so loud you can't hear anything else; and it remains on until the car runs off a cliff!!